Matthew 4:12-23; RIC Sunday; January 28, 2024 Rich Weingartner Grace to you and peace from God our parent, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Living in a world where politicians want more and more power. Minorities are treated as "others" and are not safe. Children aren't valued. The hungry are told to fend for themselves. Being judged by where you were born or grew up. Being condemned if you aren't the right religion. Dangerous to hang out with the "wrong crowd." Religious people who seek more power and control. A world where people cry "O God, How Long?!" Before we look more at that world - let's take a look at our readings for today. First, the people of Zebulun and Naphtali receive a message of promise and hope from the prophet Isiah. A promise that God will provide a glorious future. To learn more about this promise, if we read a bit further in chapter 9 of Isiah, we find a familiar text starting at verse 6: "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." This isn't just a message of promise and hope for the people of Zebulun and Naphtali, but for us as well. Our psalm today is considered a Trust Psalm. There are different types of psalms, like songs of thanksgiving, hymns of praise, prayers for help, and trust psalms. The Lutheran Study Bible says that the "trust psalms express faith and confidence in God amid great difficulties, threats, and dangers." (Lutheran Study Bible, page 776) The psalm is a story of the psalmist expressing desires to God and knowing that God will deliver on the promises. So far we've had a message of hope and promise, and then a reminder to trust in God. I don't know about you, but these are certainly messages I need to be reminded of on a daily basis. Today's new testament reading was picked specifically to tie in with today's RIC Sunday's theme of "Celebrating Diversity as God's Children." Once a year we celebrate RIC Sunday to remind ourselves of the public promise and commitment we've made as a congregation through our public welcome statement. Just like God constantly reminds us of God's love, we need to be constantly reminded of our commitment to our LGBTQIA+ siblings, our black and brown siblings, people of every age, marital status, neurodivergent status, political leanings, and people of all abilities. It can be easy to get into a routine and forget about the work we do as a congregation of being radically welcoming and inclusive. I remember back to our Diversity Sunday service when we received official recognition as an RIC congregation. It was so wonderful to see everyone celebrating what makes them unique as a diverse child of God. To be featured as the lead story on the 6 o'clock news and, based on the comments on Facebook, see people get riled up about our radical message of inclusive love. So, in case you haven't heard it today or in a while, here is your reminder. You, yes you, are a vital part of God's diversity - you are a beloved child of God - exactly as you are. You don't need to change to receive God's love - God loves you unconditionally. Through this love you will find yourself changing in ways that bring you closer to the fullness of God's vision for us and the cosmos - the vision of radical and inclusive love. While we may feel lost in the world and not seen as important - remember that God sees us and we will see God's glory revealed. When I read today's Gospel, I started thinking about how this is the launching point of Jesus' ministry. If the Gospel was a TV show like the shows that had theme songs and images that basically set the scene for the entire series - a quick montage of how it all began, I think this would be the imagery that would be used for the TV show of Jesus. Of course, the TV show "Jesus" would be the much more successful spin off of the prior series "John: Locust Eater". There are two parts of today's Gospel that I want to focus on. The first is the phrase "fishers of people". A phrase that many of us are familiar with and have heard many times - but have you thought about what it really means? Putting a cookie at the end of a fishing line in hopes that someone will eat it and then you can reel them in? This may be an interesting way to try to bring people to the church, but probably not very effective. When Jesus called his disciples, they weren't people out fishing as a hobby and catching a few fish for themselves or their family, no, they were in the business of fishing, bringing in large quantities of fish. To do this they used nets. When they used nets, they weren't selective in what fish ended up in the net - no, it collected a wide range of fish. The Lutheran Study Bible shares this comment about this passage: "This odd metaphor plays on the notion of a net collecting different types of fish. These disciples will become founders of a church that 'catches' people ...
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